Your Stories

I still miss riding on 2 wheels, but 3 will do......for now

TONY

Before the accident I went almost everywhere by bike all year round and in all weathers 10-30k per year. I was a Member of NABD, MAG and BMF, via Burnt Ash MCC, and knew people in most of the clubs in the local area.

I was unlucky enough to come off my bike two years ago, and did myself some fairly major damage starting at the feet and working up ...

Lots of bones in left foot.
Both bones in lower leg left & right resulting in some nerve damage on right side; nailed.
Left thigh shattered for top two thirds into hip joint; nailed, pinned & screwed Twice! First time it collapsed while I walked on it ... pelvis cracked in 3 places.
Broke lower left arm; plated

I can't recommend 3 weeks in intensive care as a spur of the moment holiday, but it is preferable to a permanent wooden jacket

Morphine and others are wonderful to start, and a pain in the arse to stop. Fancy giving a smart arse engineer a "Metered supply" pump and not watching. It took my girlfriend 2 days to notice I was emptying it at twice the prescribed rate. Only took 3 nurses to take it away; spoilsports!

Took two months to escape hospital the first time, and a month after that to get out of the 'chair' onto crutches; then a screw came loose in the hip so another week in. Got out again told to ignore/cope with the pain (told IT CAN'T HURT THAT MUCH SO DON'T MAKE OUT IT DOES!!!) and use the hip. Then 3 weeks before xmas, x-ray confirms what I had repeatedly said; hip collapsing. The consultant was amazed I had even been able to use crutches, let alone drive. 2 weeks traction, leg got 3" longer (almost same length as other leg again), nice 14 hour op, was told I would wake up without traction as they would fix hip with a fancy gadget (looked like an apple corer to me), woke up still in traction as the muscles in my leg were too strong for their gadget and had bent it immediately traction was relieved, so they fitted 8-10 screws.

Finally got the traction off 2 Feb 99 at 1pm, on crutches at 1.30pm, in pub in 'chair' at 1.45pm, told off by Doc's at 2.30pm when I came back for more cash. I was told that after the traction was removed, that I was supposed to stay under observation for a couple of days before leaving the ward. Oops! Disabused Doc of this idea, compromised on over night, left next morning. Slowly taught myself to walk with the minimum help I could get away with from the physioterrorists.

Got a job playing with computers in November.

Ended up walking without any aids, but have a good limp (reduced hip mobility, leg length discrepancy, foot drop & joint pain) and lots of interesting scars.

Fortunately I built myself a trike (CX500) a fair while before the accident. (Doc didn't believe I was able to ride it, so I turned up to his clinic on it). Unfortunately I now work with Computers, not Soldering and Brazing, and have nowhere to rebuild it at the moment for the MOT (needs new lower shock mounts, fork seals, head bearings etc.), but it made it to my wedding in May 2000 (3 days before MOT expired).

However, I've put my name down for a lockup garage at/from the local BHA/Council, so with luck, the trike will be back on the road.

What I do need next is to find somewhere fairly local to narrow an axle for me, and somewhere to fabricate some links and plates for the rebuild of the Vmax, that nearly killed me, into a trike so it can try again.

After all this I still miss riding on 2 wheels but 3 will do..............................for now.